Welcome Home
by Elisabeth Quin
Summary: Tegan Quin falls in love with the popular guy's girlfriend Sara Clement. QUINCEST WARNING.
1. Chapter 1

_**Hello, this is the first chapter of my high school fanfic! I hope you guys like it and feel free to review, I'd love to hear what you think about the story. Enjoy! :D**_

 **CHAPTER 1**

 **Tegan POV:**

Another shitty day in life. Today's my first day at my new school. Fucking great. New school with no friends or any people I know. Great. Let's just hope this day will end soon so I can have a breakdown in my room. I sit up straight and swing my legs off of bed. I let out a sigh and stand up while checking my clock.

''7am. Okay I've got more than an hour.'' I mumble to myself.

I head downstairs and see my mom waiting for me with a big smile.

''Did you sleep well? Are you excited for your new school?'' she asks while I grab a bowl and cereal.

''Yeah'', I fake a smile and pour in my milk into the bowl.

If only she knew how much I hated this. If only she knew that this is just another school full of students that will bully me away. I finish my breakfast and go upstairs. I walk up to my closet and choose an outfit. A black band T-shirt, dark blue jeans and my vans. I go to the bathroom to take a shower and change. When I'm done I look at my clock and see it's almost 8am. I take my bag and head downstairs and meet my mom once again with car keys in her hand waiting for me. I quickly put my lunch into my bag and walk out of the door and head to my mom's car.

I stare out of the window during the whole ride. Man, I wish Jeremy was here, he'd brighten up my day in no time. We've been best friends for years, but when he passed away, I felt like a part of me passed away too. We had so much in common, we both liked the same bands, we both loved playing guitar and we were both gay. And homosexuality was one of the reasons we both got bullied, but Jeremy always managed to make me happy. I was snapped out of my thoughts when the car stopped in front of school, also known as Hell, and my mom put her hand on my shoulder. I give her a weak smile and get out of the car. I have to admit, I'm kind of nervous right now, seeing all those students separated in groups. The nerds, the skaters, the emos, the hockey players, the popular group,.. I'm about to have a panic attack but then a boy comes up to me.

''Hey there,'' he smiles,

''You okay?''

''Yeah, I'm just a bit overwhelmed.'' I smile back.

''By the way I'm Ted.''

He holds out his hand and I shake it.

''I'm Tegan.''

We walk to class and sit in the back of the room. I really hope no one notices I'm new. Not that I actually give a shit, but I just don't want to talk to other people. I look around and smirk at the fact that the class is full of girls and only has a few boys. When it's lunchbreak I see Ted talking and laughing with a girl. When he sees me, he smiles and waves at me. I walk over to them and notice the girl is checking me out. I feel slightly uncomfortable, but she's kinda hot so I ignore it.

''Tegan this is Lindsey, Lindsey this is Tegan.'' Ted says with a cheery voice. ''Hi'' I give her a gummy smile and she smiles back,

''Hey, you're new right?"

I nod and we walk towards the lunch room of school. We take places and take out our food. I smile when I see my food because I'm starving. We eat our lunches and I listen to Ted and Lindsey talking and laughing. I'm glad I already made friends to make this hellhole better.

''So Tegan, why did you actually change schools?'' Lindsey asks stuffing bread in her mouth.

''Well, my best friend and I got bullied by pretty much everyone,'' I stop to bite my apple and continue,

''And when I thought it couldn't get worse he got killed in a car crash.''

Ted and Lindsey both look at me with wide eyes, ''I'm so sorry to hear, Tegan'' Ted says and Lindsey agrees.

''It's okay,'' I shrug, ''I'm sure he's here and laughing his ass off at my awkwardness.'' I laugh and we get up from our table and head to the next class.

Luckily, thanks to Ted and Lindsey, school was over fast. It wasn't that bad to be honest. I sit on the stairs and wait for my mom to pick me up. I hear a bunch of laughing voices come close and pray that my mom will be here before they will. To my luck, the most popular group from school approaches me while laughing.

''Well fuck'' I whisper in my breath.

''Whatcha doing here, emo?''

I look at the boy confused and offended. ''Excuse me?''

''You heard me.'' he says while his friends form a threatening wall around me.

I get up and place my tiny figure in front of the giant that has insulted me.

''I'm just waiting, I don't see what's wrong with that.''

''Well wait somewhere else, this is our spot, you dyke.'' he spits while throwing me onto the stairs.

I raise my eyebrows and get up ready to slap the shit out of that asshole, when a girl appears from behind him.

''Please stop Jim, let's just go somewhere else.''

My body immediately loses its anger when I see the most beautiful girl stand next to him.

He continues giving me a nasty look and I mock him.

''Yeah Jim, go somewh-"

Before I could finish my sentence he gives me a head-butt and I fall back down on the stairs.

''I'm not done with you yet.''

He spits at me and walks away. The pretty girl, which I assume is his girlfriend, mouths a ''sorry'' at me and I smile at her as I try to stop the bleeding from my nose.

Right when they are out of sight my mom arrives, I enter the car and she starts to panic.

''Tegan what happened?''

I fasten my seatbelt and take a tissue for my nose.

''I don't wanna talk about it, let's go home.''

My mom nods and drives away.

When we arrive home, I immediately head upstairs to my room. I throw my bag next to my closet and let myself fall on my bed. I let out a big frustrated groan which I'm pretty sure my mom heard. After a while of just laying down and relaxing, I drift off to sleep.

''Tegan, you're going to be late!''

I hear a feminine voice scream at me and I moan. I sigh and get up and prepare myself for my second day which I'm sure won't be great at all.

When I arrive in school, I walk up to Ted and Lindsey talking and giggling.

''Hey guys''

''Hi Tegan!'' Ted says with his cheery voice and Lindsey smiles and waves at me.

''Wow Tegan, what happened to your face?!"

Lindsey gasps while Ted gives her an angry glare.

''Lindsey that's rude!"

I laugh and touch my nose. I didn't even notice it was swollen this morning.

''It's okay, I just had a little argument with someone.''

Teds eyebrow raises as he talks.

''I don't think a 'little argument' would have led to hitting you.''

''Well, I'm still alive right?''

They both nod and we enter the building as the bell rings.

I look at the clock and sigh, it's only 11:45am. Why is time going so slow.. I look around in class and see that the same girl from yesterday is looking at my direction. I smile at her and she smiles shyly back. The bell rings and I'm walking to the door as quickly as possible to join Ted and Lindsey, but when I arrive at the door, the girl tries to stop me.

''Wait!"

I look behind me with a confused expression.

''Me?''

She giggles and walks up to me.

''Yeah,''

I am speechless as I get a closer and better look at her. She is so beautiful. She has the most stunning brown eyes I've ever seen, and her long brown hair is so much better than my messy hair.

''So yeah, I wanted to apologize for yesterday..''

I get snapped out of my thoughts as she softly says.

''Oh, it's okay, it's not your fault.''

She holds her books tighter as she looks nervously around in the hallway.

''Well I could've stopped him before he hurt you.''

''Pfsh, it didn't hurt that much. He's not as strong as he looks.'' I try to get my inner macho out and she smiles.

''Yeah, you look pretty tough.''

She holds her books in one arm and holds out the other one.

''By the way, my name's Sara.''

I shake her hand and smile.

''Tegan.''

''Well nice to meet you, Tegan.'' she winks and walks away into the lunch room. I smile and look for Ted and Lindsey.

''I swear it was this big!'' Ted says as he explains something to Lindsey.

''Ted you're full of shit.'' Lindsey rolls her eyes.

''Whatever, hey Tegan! Come sit with us!'' Ted smiles and I join them.

''What were you guys talking about?''

I say as I unpack my lunch.

''Well, this morning I saw a spider, THIS big.''

I laugh and raise an eyebrow.

''He's exaggerating, that can't be.''

''Lindsey, you weren't there! How could you know!"

I listen to them talk and laugh while finishing my lunch when my eye catches a table not so far from ours. It's the table Sara and Jim are sitting at. Jim's talking to their friends while Sara just remains silent next to him. She looks so sad, I don't get why she's friends with those assholes.

After finishing our lunches we get up and continue with our classes.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hey guys, sorry it took me so long but I finally finished chapter 2 :D. I'm already working on chapter 3 and I promise it'll be up in a couple of weeks. Let me know what you think and enjoy :D.**_

 **Tegan POV:**

A few days have passed and it's finally weekend. I change clothes and head downstairs to greet my mom.

"Good morning, mom." I say walking down the stairs.

"Good morning honey!" she says with a cheery voice. I don't know how she manages to always stay this happy with all the bullshit going on in this world.

"Whatcha doin'?" I ask while I make myself breakfast.

"Oh I'm just checking my emails." She says not taking her eyes off of her computer screen.

I say a casual "Aight" and finish my breakfast.

When I'm done I do the dishes and look over to my mom.

"Hey mom, do you mind if I go for a walk?"

"No honey, go ahead." She says, her face still glued to her screen.

I grab my bag and go outside. I make my way to the old shack near the woods. It's not that big but it's a fun place to hang with friends or read a book alone. I push hard against the wooden door to enter the shack and put my bag down next to the grey sofa. Sometimes I wished I lived here, I mean, my grandpa used to live here for years as a teen. When I was 8 years old he showed me the shack and I helped him renovate it.

I look at the picture of us on the small table next to the couch and try not to cry as memories of him fill my head. I shake the thoughts from my mind and take my book out of my bag. When it's almost 6pm I hear a vibrating noise come from my bag. I look at my phone and notice I have one new message from Lindsey.

" _Hey, Ted & I are going to a bar in a bit, wanna join?"_

I smile and happily reply her text.

" _Yeah, sounds fun. See ya soon."_

 _''Gr8, see you ;)"_

I grab my bag and lock up the shack to go home. When I'm home I take a shower and put on my clothes. I search for my mom and find her already asleep on the couch. I quietly leave the house and go to Ted and Lindsey.

When we arrive at the bar we see some teens of our age smoking outside of the building. I follow Ted and Lindsey inside as they lead me to an empty table. We sit at the table and order our drinks. Eventually Lindsey goes to another table to chat with some of her friends while I chat with Ted.

After sharing some jokes and thoughts I go to the bar and order 2 more drinks. The bartender hands me the glasses and I head back to our table. I hand Ted his glass and put my own on the table. I notice a familiar face enter the bar followed by some faces I'd rather not remember. It's Sara, Jim and his crew. I roll my eyes at the sight of him screaming through the bar like an idiot and sip my drink.

"Oh Christ." Ted sighs and I look at him.

Jim takes a seat in front of the bartender and immediately orders drinks for him and his friends.

"He's an ass." I cringe.

"Yeah, and so are his friends." He laughs.

I laugh and agree with him. "Aren't all popular students?"

"Yeah, mostly, besides his girlfriend, she's way too nice for him." Ted sighs and drinks his beer.

I nod and look at Sara sitting next to a girl sadly playing with the straw of her drink. It's so sad, someone as beautiful as her shouldn't be unhappy, she's way too good for Jim.

She lifts her head and looks my way. I half-smile at her and she shyly smiles back before dropping her head again. I look at her skinny body and bony hands still playing with her drink. Her hair covers her sad eyes while she listens to the girl next to her talk. I notice myself staring too long at her and so does Ted.

"You should go talk to her." He suggests.

I nod and get up to walk towards her table. When I stand in front of their table, the girl next to her pokes her and I raise an eyebrow. Sara gives the girl a pissed look and mumbles something at her before noticing I'm standing in front of her.

"Hi." I smile.

"Oh, hi." She nervously smiles back.

It's kind of awkward for a second and then the girl next to her stands up from her seat and greets me.

"Hi, I'm Emy, you're Tegan, right?"

I look at her in confusion and nod.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

She claps her hands together and smiles.

"Well, I have to go. Nice meeting you Tegan."

Before I could answer her she leaves and I shrug it off. I notice that Sara moves over for me to sit next to her and I awkwardly sit next to her. The silence is oddly comforting. She eyes me up and down and bites her lip. I start to get nervous and try to start a conversation.

"So… Aren't you gonna sit with your boyfriend?"

Her eyes shoot up to mine and it sends me shivers down my spine.

"No, I like it here. It isn't as noisy as the rest of this place." She shrugs.

She's not wrong, it is kind of calm in here and you can actually hear what the person you're talking to is saying.

Sara keeps looking over to Jim and his friends who are drinking a shitload of alcohol which I assume are whiskey shots. She shakes her head and I look at her confused.

"I don't want to sound rude," she sighs and continues speaking softer than at first, "But I don't think it's a great idea that you're sitting here."

"Oh," I say quietly, "Well I can go back if you want." I point over to Ted, once again joined by Lindsey who returned to her seat, glancing over here.

"No, don't," she quickly says and grabs my arm, "I just don't want Jim to hurt you again."

I remain in my seat and smile at her, "Oh he won't, he's too busy drinking his ass off."

She laughs and lets go of my arm. I chew on my labret and she smiles at me.

"Why did you decide to come sit next to me?" when the words left her mouth her face turned serious.

"Well uhh.." I try to find my words as her eyes pierce through mine making me stumble over my words.

"Well..?" she smirks.

"Well, because you looked sad." I finally manage to say.

She smiles and bites her lip.

"And you would never let the chance to comfort a girl go, would you?"

My eyes grow wide at the words and I heavily blush. Sara looks at me with an evil grin.

"I uhh.." I don't know what to say, she looks so innocent and shy but damn.

"I don't mind your comfort." She smiles.

I blush even more and try to hide it by looking down. She continues smiling until she notices Jim and his friends are about to leave. He is so drunk he can barely stand on his feet.

When I look back at her again I notice she's looking for something inside her bag. I flinch when she suddenly takes my warm hand with her cold one and starts writing something on it. She holds my hand tight and pulls me closer so that our faces are a couple of inches away from each other.

"You better text me."

She whispers seductively in my ear and I just nod quickly in response. She smiles in a cute but also sexy way and I am sure I'm falling for this girl.

We get up from our seats and she quickly puts her arms around me, causing butterflies in my stomach. I'm not sure if she's a clingy person or just drunk, but I'm not complaining.

She lets go of me and winks before walking away. I watch her walk out of the bar with Jim and sigh. I take a seat next to Ted again.

He looks at me and waits for me to talk. Lindsey on the other hand looks rather drunk and just stares at my tribal tattoo.

"How'd it go?" He asks impatiently.

I show him my hand with her number written on it and smile.

"I guess not bad."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hi guys, I finally finished chapter 3 and I have so many ideas for further chapters. So, more (and longer) chapters will come soon. Also do you think I should do a Sara POV too? Let me know what you guys think and if you like it or not, enjoy! :D ( Also a special thanks to my friends "Noodle" and Dana for helping me with writing/grammar c: )**_

 **CHAPTER 3**

TEGAN POV:

I wake up with a headache and rub my eyes. I get up to grab some comfy clothes when I notice a smudged writing on my hand. Suddenly I remember that I haven't texted Sara yet and throw my clothes on my bed to grab my phone. I try to figure out the number on my hand and pray it's the right one. I bite my lip and try to think of something that won't make me look as awkward as I am. Finally I decide to just say something simple. I smile and press send.

" _Hi, it's Tegan."_

I put on my big soft sweater and a pair of sweatpants. I look in the mirror and try to fix my hair a bit before going downstairs. Right when I walk past my door I hear my phone buzz on my nightstand and quickly walk back to grab my phone.

" _Oh hey, I was already afraid you weren't going to text me."_

I smile and read the text a few times before answering, not trying to answer directly.

" _I wouldn't let the chance to comfort a girl go, remember?"_

I quote her saying from yesterday and compliment myself for such a smooth answer. Not long after I sent my text, I receive a new one from her.

" _Right, what about you comfort me during lunch tomorrow?"_

I can feel my heart jump and I realise how fast I'm falling for a girl I barely know. I'd be stupid if I didn't accept her request though.

" _Sure, sounds great."_

I try to remain calm and not sound too excited or desperate. I haven't liked anyone since Stacy, and that was like 3 years ago. She was 16 and I was 14, she was my first everything but turned out to be a cheating bitch and left me for an older boy. I was totally heartbroken and only slept with some random girls after that, but I never really liked any.

I get snapped out of my thoughts when suddenly my phone buzzes again.

" _Great ;)"_

I put my phone in my pocket and head downstairs in a good mood, totally forgotten about my headache. Once downstairs I grab my cereal and my mom greets me with her cheery voice.

"Good morning sweetheart."

I smile and reply happily, which is rare for me in mornings.

"Good morning mom!"

She raises her eyebrows and laughs at my enthusiasm as I turn on the television and eat my cereal.

Around 2PM I get bored and decide to do some homework. I grab my iPod and plug my headphones in to listen to some music. The first song that starts to play is by Paramore. I have always loved them, but sadly enough I don't know anyone that likes them too, people consider them too 'emo'.

After finishing my homework for the whole week, I notice it's already 6PM and go downstairs to help my mom prepare dinner. We eat dinner together and talk a bit about my school. I go to my room again and let myself fall onto my bed. Before I know, I fall into a deep sleep.

The next morning I open my eyes and groan at the sound of my alarm clock going off. Sighing I get out of bed to get ready for long hours of boring classes. Well at least I have something to look forward to today.

Mom drops me off at the corner of the street and I walk the rest of my routine. When I get closer to the entrance I see Ted and Lindsey talking to Emy. I greet them and awkwardly stand next to Ted. I didn't know Emy was a friend of theirs. I listen to them talk and joke while I remain silent only smiling.

I look around the hallway and notice Sara's entering the building. I smile without intending to do so, until I see Jim walk up to her. They start making out and I quickly turn away before I puke.

The bell rings and we go to our classes. Ted and I head to math class and take our seats. The teacher asks for our homework, and surprisingly I'm one of the few students that actually made it. With a good impression as a new student, I follow the rest of my classes until lunch.

It's finally lunchbreak and my heart starts to race. I walk out of the classroom and go to the lunchroom. I see Sara and Emy sitting at a table and my hands start to sweat. I need to calm the fuck down. Before I can beg my brain not to make a fool out of myself, Emy notices me and gestures to the empty seats next to them.

I fidget with the strap of my backpack when I walk towards them and smile.

''Hi.''

''Hey.''

Sara smiles back at me, gesturing to me to sit next to her.

''How are you?'' Sara asks sweetly.

''Uh well uh, I'm fine and you?''

She giggles at my nervousness and smiles.

''I'm great, thank you.''

There's an awkward silence for a moment, but thank God Emy starts a conversation.

"Oh by the way, my mom brought home a kitten last night."

She takes her phone out of her pocket and starts looking for something on it.

"He's only a few weeks old."

She shows us the picture and I move closer to Sara to get a better look at the picture. She glances at me and blushes which causes me to instant smile and blush too. Emy puts her phone away and raises her eyebrows at us.

"He's adorable, what's his name?" Sara asks, smiling at his cuteness.

"We're not sure yet, but I wanted to call him Rupert."

"You're naming him after Abisha's cat?" Sara asks in confusion and I look at her confused too, wondering if she's thinking about the same person.

"Wait, you mean Abisha from Sick Of Sarah?"

Sara's confused frown turns into a confused smile after I mentioned the band and nods.

"Yeah, you know them?"

"Yeah, I fucking love them." I smile back in excitement.

"Holy shit, me too."

I totally forget Emy is sitting in front of us and just talk to Sara about stuff we have in common.

After a while the bell rings and we get up and walk towards the hallway. Before Sara enters her class she turns to me.

"You should join us more often."

I nod and giggle awkwardly.

"Yeah I'd love to."

I head to my own class and take a seat in the back, smiling the whole time. I haven't been this happy in a while.

Eventually the bell rings and everyone heads home. I walk up to my bus and get in, plugging my headphones in. During the ride I stare outside until I'm almost home and notice Jim drop off Sara at a house a few blocks away from me. I wonder if she lives there, or maybe Jim. I try to stay positive and hope that it's her.

When I arrive home I go to my room and let myself fall on my bed. I look over to my abandoned guitar and take it. I strum some random chords to see if it's still tuned, and to my surprise it is. It's been a while since I played but since I'm bored I guess I can start playing again. I grab my notebook with my lyrics in it and try to make them into a song.

After writing down my chords, I put my guitar back in its usual spot and head to bed.

The next morning I wake up happy, doing my daily routine. I spend the rest of my school day with Sara and Emy, laughing and talking.

When I arrive back home I grab my guitar and take it to my shack. I start practising and writing down some combinations. I follow this routine for a while, getting closer to Emy and especially Sara, until Jim finds out.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Hi again! I just finished this chapter and thought that there's no point in waiting so therefore I just uploaded it. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it . (:**_

TEGAN POV:

When I wake up the first thing I see is a text from Sara. I notice she sent the text around 2am and wonder why she texted me that late. I curiously open the text and instantly mutter 'fuck', bringing me back to my first day in this school.

" _Tegan, Jim knows we hang out and thinks I'm cheating on him. Please be careful, he was threatening to hurt you."_

I throw my phone onto my bed and try to think of something that won't end up me getting beat up again. I skip breakfast, feeling too anxious to eat, and do the rest of my routine. Most of the times I've tried to fool my mom to stay home I failed, so I don't bother to even try. Luckily it's Friday, so I'll be safe in the weekend. I guess I'll just try to stay away from him today.

When my mom stops her car in front of school I hesitate to open the door.

"The doors are unlocked, sweety." Mom says and I answer her with a shaky voice.

"Oh, my fault sorry."

I open the door and get out, dragging my bag with me. Okay Tegan, it's 8:20am right now and Jim always comes to school twenty minutes late. That's enough time to greet some friends and go to my class. When I get to the stairs of the building I see Lindsey and Ted. I greet them quickly, trying to get inside to look for Sara, but they start asking me questions.

"Damn Tegan, you're hanging a lot with Sara lately. Is there something you didn't tell us?" Ted teases.

I nervously smile and answer quickly.

"Yeah, she's great."

Right when I'm about to walk away, into the building, Lindsey greets me and I try to stay calm.

"Hey Tee, when are you gonna join us in the bar again?"

"Soon, I promise."

They laugh and tease me even more.

"Ask if your girlfriend wants to join us too."

I smile awkwardly and walk inside of the building, looking for Sara and Emy. To my luck I see Sara standing at her locker taking her books. I try to walk as fast as possible and not look like an idiot. She closes her locker but when she sees me she jumps and looks around her.

"Tegan what are you doing?" She asks silently.

"I don't know what to do."

She sighs and keeps her eyes on the entrance of the school.

"I don't know either, but it's just best if we don't talk until Jim has calmed down."

My heart feels like it's breaking but also dying because of my fear for Jim and his gang of death. She sees the disappointment in my eyes and takes my hand.

"It's okay, we can still text if you want." She softly says.

I smile and so does she before going to her class.

The whole day went fine, I haven't seen Jim or his friends. As usual, I wait for my mom to pick me up but receive a message that she won't be able to pick me up and I head to the bus stop. On my way there I pass a small alley with trashcans in it. I hear something coming from behind the containers and my brain stops me from going near it. If there's one thing I've learned from movies, it's that going in creepy alleys is the worst idea ever.

I walk past it but suddenly I get stopped by a hard punch in my face. I fall onto the ground and before I can process what's happening, the person drags me onto the wall and pushes my bleeding face against it. His grip on my hair is so strong that I think he might pull some of my hair out.

"I've been looking for you, bitch."

My eyes go wide when I recognize Jims voice and I start to panic. He throws me on the floor again and I get up, wiping some blood of off my nose.

"Don't you have anything better to do than beat up girls?"

He looks at me as if he's crazy and spits his words at me.

"You're not a girl, you're a stupid, fucking, dyke."

I just look at him and I can't believe what he just said.

"And I have very good reasons to beat you up since you've been trying to get Sara away from me."

Before I can speak, he pushes me again, making my head hit the wall. His friends just watch me being the helpless girl I am and laugh at me.

When I think he's finally going to leave, he turns around and hits me one more time, right in the middle of my face. Because of the force he used, I bounce against the wall and end up on the floor, again.

"Stay the fuck away from her or I'll actually kill you."

Jim looks at me struggling on the ground and makes fun of me before letting his friends kick me in my ribs and run off. I remain on the ground, wheezing, until I hear familiar voices scream and realize Ted, Lindsey and Emy are running my direction. They help me stand up straight and steady me.

"What the fuck happened Tegan?" Lindsey asks worried.

When I try to say something my body hurts even more and I scream in pain. Emy gives me a tissue to try to stop the bleeding from my nose and Ted takes a closer look at it.

"I think it might be damaged." He finally says with sympathy in his voice.

"Fuck dude, what was his problem?" Emy asks in disbelieve.

"He told me to stay away from Sara." I mumble with a weird pitch in my voice.

"I knew she was bad news." Lindsey whispers just a little too loud and Ted hits her arm.

Emy offers to help me get home and Ted and Lindsey say goodbye, promising they'll text me later on tonight to see how it's going.

On the drive back to my house Emy remains mostly silent. It's not an awkward silence, just a "I don't know what to say" silence. Some people stare at me but I honestly don't care, because I didn't really ask for this. Even though hitting on someone with a boyfriend, which in this case is the muscular douche, isn't my best action.

"I texted Sara and told her what happened." She suddenly says.

"What did she say?"

"She's gonna talk to Jim soon,"

I start to slightly shake my head, thinking that maybe won't end up good for her either.

"And she's on her way to the next bus stop." Emy continues.

"What?" I ask confused.

"She lives a few blocks from yours and told me she'd be waiting there."

"No, I don't want her to see me like this." I look at Emy pointing at my bloody face and dirty clothes.

She looks at me and dusts off a bit of the dirt off of my jacket.

"She'll think you look badass."

I laugh and remain silent, thinking about how I'm gonna explain this to mom.

The bus stops at his destination and when we get off, Sara runs up to us.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" She asks with worry in her voice.

I cough and she caresses my cheek, trying to wipe off the dried blood.

"Yeah, it doesn't hurt that much."

She takes my hand and drags me with her.

"Comon, I'll fix you up."

Emy walks after us, calling her mom to let her know she's at Sara and Sara drags me into her house.

I feel so overwhelmed and I have no idea what's happening. She takes me into her room and takes a box with a first aid kit in it.

"Sara really, I'm fine."

She ignores me and gets a wet towel to clean my face.

"He's a terrible human." She says sighing.

I sigh with her, thinking that it's actually my own fault to be honest.

After she's done cleaning up my face, she asks me to take off my jacket so she can clean it. I hand her my jacket and she looks at my bare arms.

"You have tattoos?" She asks, taking my jacket.

I nod and she bites her lip mumbling something.

"Sexy."

"What?" I laugh.

She ignores me and continues cleaning my jacket.

"What were you doing out there alone though?"

"I was just on my way to my bus." I shrug. "I don't know where they came from."

"Well, in that case it would be best if I take you home with my car from now on."

I look at her in confusion.

"Wait, you have a car?"

She nods and hums, handing me back my jacket.

When I look kind of decent, we both get up and go to the front door.

"You might want to go to the doctors though, just in case." She recommends.

"Thanks." I smile at her, pulling her into a hug before leaving.

The next morning I wake up because of the pain in my ribs. Maybe it's best I go see a doctor soon, but I don't want my mom to know. I head downstairs and hear my mom talking. I notice she's phoning someone, so I don't bother her and silently eat breakfast. She listens to the other person talk for a long time and looks rather pissed. When she hangs up she puts down the phone and sighs.

"Who was that?" I say while eating my cereal.

"Your aunt Dana, she's got some problems and wants me to fly over to her next week."

I look at her in confusion and shake my head. She cleans the counter to keep her hands occupied and sighs again.

"She's got some serious issues, honey. I'll only be gone for a week."

"But next week is my birthday." I can't believe out of all the other times she could've gone, she goes next week.

"I know, I know, and we'll celebrate it when I'm back, I'm so sorry."

I nod and go to my room again. Why? I mean I get why, but why me? Most teens would be happy that their mother would leave the house, but I have a clingy bond with my mom since my dad left. But as I've noticed, I'm not like most teens, maybe I just am a stupid dyke, like Jim said.

I take my phone to distract myself and see Sara's name on my screen.

" _Hope you're feeling better. Wanna hangout today?"_

I smile, not giving two fucks about Jim.

" _Yeah sure, I know the perfect place."_

" _Great."_

I get ready and head outside to meet Sara. I drag her with me to a place she's never been, my shack. When we arrive she smiles and looks at the shack.

"Did you make this?"

"Yeah, my grandpa and I did."

I open the door and let her inside, smiling at how cute she is. She looks at a picture of my grandpa and me. I give her a weak smile and she looks at me as if she knows what I mean.

I put my books away and suddenly her eye catches my guitar.

"You play guitar?"

I look at her and nod.

"Yeah, I used to play a lot more than now though." I take it and hand it to her. "You play too?"

She takes the guitar and sits on the couch.

"I do, I even write my own songs."

"Oh really? You should show me some then." I say in a flirtatious tone.

She bites her lip eyeing me up and down, smiling, "Maybe."

I sit down next to her and groan at the pain in my ribs. She stops strumming the guitar and looks at me.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, it's nothing too bad." I try to assure her.

She continues playing some random chords and smiles. She starts to play the chords faster and starts to sing.

" _Love pull your sore ribs in_

 _I will pull your tangles out._

 _In the back of your car I feel like_

 _I have travelled nowhere."_

I keep my eyes on her while she sings and notice how cute she is. Her dark bangs covering her eyes, her small figure holding my big guitar, the smile that doesn't leave her face and of course, her beautiful voice.

" _What will bring me home_

 _What will make me stay, stay_

 _What will bring me home_

 _What will make me stay, stay"_

She looks at me, still singing and strumming the guitar.

" _Well I don't know_

 _I don't know, ooh_

 _I don't know_

 _I don't know, ooh"_

She finishes the song and shyly smiles.

"Holy shit that was amazing." I say surprised.

"I wrote it about a year ago," She stops to put the guitar next to her and continues, "For my girlfriend back then, but we broke up after a month."

"What happened?"

"Well, let's say that she wasn't the person that I thought she was."

I nod, understanding what she means. "And then you met Jim?"

SARA POV:

"Yep, and then I met Jim." I sigh, sounding rather sad.

I rest my head on her shoulder and sigh. We remain silent, just enjoying each other's presence for a while.

"Why are you still with him?" She curiously asks.

"Actually, I don't know." I shrug, thinking about the reasons I shouldn't, "He has some serious anger problems, I don't know if he'll take it good if I call it off."

Tegan laughs and I feel her shoulder move against my cheek, "Yeah, I've noticed that he has some serious issues."

We sit like this for a couple of minutes, until Tegan starts to breathe abnormally fast. I sit up straight and look at her.

"Tegan are you okay?"

She shakes her head and I start to panic, so I take my puffer out of my bag and hand it to her.

Her breath rhythm starts to slow down and I feel a bit relieved.

"Did you visit the doctor's yesterday?"

"No, it isn't that bad."

I give her a stern look and carefully pull her arm to help her up. She sighs and gets up.

We walk to my car and the whole ride Tegan keeps coughing, making me only feel more worried.

We sit in the waiting room until an older woman tells us to come in. We enter the doctor's room and greet the doctor.

"Good afternoon ladies, what appears to be the problem?" She asks smiling.

"I slipped and bumped into a table." Tegan lies, and I nod.

"Did you experience anything weird since?" The doctor asks, leading us further into the room.

"Yeah, her coughs don't sound normal and she just had breathing issues, that's why I brought her here." I try to explain.

The doctor hums and puts on her glasses. She asks Tegan to sit on the examination table. The doctor grabs her stethoscope and asks Tegan to remove her shirt. She does as she's told and my eyes go wide as I see a huge bruise on her ribs. The doctor listen to her heartrate and touches the bruise, making Tegan flinch. She puts her stethoscope away and clears her throat.

"It looks like you've bruised your rib. Luckily it isn't broken."

Tegan sighs and puts on her shirt again.

"Try to rest as much as possible and regularly hold an ice pack against your chest the first few days." The doctor recommends.

We thank the doctor and shake her hand. She looks at Tegan and smiles.

"You're lucky that you have such a good girlfriend."

She smiles and we both blush, walking outside. I drive back to the shack and we spend the rest of the day resting, listening to some music until we both fall asleep on her comfy, big couch.

I suddenly wake up, remembering where I am. Tegan's fallen asleep on my shoulder, too. I look at the time on my phone and notice dad has sent me a text a hour ago. Quickly I text him back, letting him know I'm on my way back home.

I try to carefully move Tegan's head to get up, but she holds my arm and mumbles, ''No don't go'' in her sleepy voice, still half sleeping.

I smile at her cuteness and wish I could stay, but there are so many reason I can't. Her grip on my arm loosens and I slowly get up to grab my bag. I look for a small paper and pen and write something on it. I put the note on the table and smile at her cute sleeping pose before leaving.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Hi guys, sorry it took me so long but finally here's chapter 5! I hope you enjoy it and let me know if you like it.**_

SARA POV:

When I park my car in front of my house, I see the lights inside are still on and my dad's waiting at the door. I walk inside and my dad stops me from going upstairs.

"Where were you?" He asks sternly.

"With Tegan." I quickly say.

"Who's Tegan?" He asks confused, "What kind of name is that?"

"Tegan is my friend and it's a Welsh name." I frown at him.

He laughs and we both go upstairs, to our rooms. I change clothes and decide to read a book since I'm not that tired. After reading longer than I intended to, I close my book and try to go to sleep. Right when I turned off all of the lights, I hear my phone vibrate on my nightstand. I squint my eyes and see Jim's number is calling me, he's been trying to call me all day but I am not in the mood to talk to him.

"Hello? Sara?"

"Yes, Jim?"

When he doesn't answer I sigh and start to get annoyed.

"Jim why are you calling me at 1 am."

"Where were you today, I thought we were gonna hang out at the bar as usual."

"I was with Tegan." I silently say, hoping he won't scream at me.

"So you'd rather be with that dyke than with your boyfriend?"

"She has a name, stop calling her that."

"I don't want you to talk to her anymore." He threatens and I feel offended.

"Who the fuck do you think you are to tell me who I can talk to or not?"

"Your boyfriend, can't you fucking see she's just trying to get you to dump me so she can just fuck you?"

"Don't you dare talk about her like that, at least she respects me, unlike you."

He sighs and remains silent for a couple of seconds and I only hear his breathing.

"Jim, fu-"

Before I could finish my sentence he hangs up and I throw my phone on my bed. His attitude pisses me off more than anything lately. I shrug it off and close my eyes. As soon as I try to fall asleep, I suddenly hear a car's loud motor near my window. After a while the car is still making noise and I get up, frustrated and tired. I look out my window to see which idiot is making such annoying loud noises, and notice Jim's car is in front of my house.

"Oh shit." I whisper to myself and silently go downstairs.

I open the door and he walks up to me. He smiles and tries to hug me.

"Jim what are you doing here?" I softly say, closing the door behind me to make sure we don't wake up my dad.

"I just wanted to talk to you." He says as if it's the most normal thing in the world to say at midnight.

"And you couldn't wait until tomorrow?"

He shrugs and I roll my eyes, holding my keys ready to open the front door.

"Jim, please go home." I say, standing inside of my house, slowly closing the door.

"Oh but if that fucking dyke would be here you wouldn't mind it, would you?"

I go back outside and look him right in the eyes.

"Stop calling her a fucking dyke. Why the fuck do you hate her so much?"

"Because that bitch is ruining our relationship." He screams at me and I laugh.

"No Jim, you are ruining our relationship."

He raises his eyebrows and I sigh.

"I don't think this is gonna work any longer."

"What do you mean?" He asks, even though he knows what I mean.

"Us."

He keeps his eyes on mine and I notice they are filled with sadness. But surprisingly enough, he remains calm.

"Are you breaking up with me?" He asks sadly and I kind of feel bad now.

"I'm so sorry." I whisper and start to close the door again.

Suddenly his foot stops the door from closing and confused I look up at him, his face no longer sad but angry. I try to quickly close it before he starts to freak out, but he grabs my arm and pulls me outside.

"You are not breaking up with me."

He closes the door and I start to panic.

"Sorry Jim, but pl-"

My sentence is cut off by his hand forming a sharp pain on my cheek. I look at him, shocked that he dared to hit me, but also scared.

"You are not leaving me." He says through gritted teeth while I shiver against my front door.

"Sorry but, I just don't love you anymore." I say with a shaky voice, knowing I will regret I said it.

He pushes me against the door, hard, and he puts his right hand on my throat. I look at his blond hair wet from the sweat that has formed on his forehead, and his green eyes, now filled with anger.

"Please, please stop." I beg him, but he doesn't listen and his grip around my throat becomes so strong, that he lifts my tiny body off of the ground. I try to push his hand away and kick him in fear that he'll actually choke me to death.

"You are not leaving me, Sara." He says and I shake my head in fear.

"I want to hear you say it." He threatens and his nails dig into my skin, for sure making me bleed.

"I'm no-not leaving you." I cry out, almost out of oxygen.

He smiles and lets go of my neck. I drop on the ground and immediately take my puffer out of my sweater.

''I don't want you to ever talk to her again.'' He says while walking back to his car while I try to steady my breathing. When he drives away I go inside and lock the door, letting myself fall against it to cry on the ground.

TEGAN POV:

I wake myself up by coughing and rub my eyes. I realize I fell asleep in my shack again and sit up straight. Suddenly I see a small note laying on the table next to me. I take it and try to read the illegible words.

"Sorry I had to go, my dad got worried. We gotta hang out more often though."

I put it in my pocket and look at my clock to see it's already noon. I take my phone and lock the door before walking home. When I enter my house the first thing I hear is my mom talking to someone and I quickly go upstairs, not wanting her to see my black eye that's still poorly covered with makeup.

"Tegan?" My mom asks and I mentally slap myself for being so loud.

"Yeah?"

"Why don't you come say hi to your aunt Sam?" She says and I hear them both giggle in excitement.

I walk into the kitchen and immediately get a suffocating hug from her.

"Uhm, hi." I awkwardly say and she lets go of me.

"You've grown so much since the last time I saw you!" She screams in excitement and I nod, even though I've been the same length for years.

"How old are you?"

"I'll be 17 next week." I say and she turns to my mom.

"Oh they grow so fast!"

"I know Samantha! You should've seen her long hair when she was 15."

I cringe and slowly start to leave while they continue their conversation. I enter my room, ready to spend the day doing nothing.

The next morning I wake up, feeling slightly better than the previous day. I do my usual routine and take the bus to school since my mom's still asleep. After entering the school building I make my way to my friends and greet them. We chat for a bit but then I notice Sara's not present, which is odd since she's always early.

''Have you seen Sara yet?'' I ask Emy, who is standing right next to me.

''I was about to ask the same thing.'' She answers and I shrug.

I continue listening to my friends talking about a hockey game I missed that occurred last weekend until it's almost time for our first class. Not long before the bell rings, I see Sara, Jim and some of his friends walk through the entrance.

I smile at her when she passes us but she just looks at me with the same depressed look she entered the building with. Emy looks over to me and frowns.

''Did you guys have an argument or something?''

''I don't think so.'' I answer, questioning myself what I might have done wrong.

Luckily we both take the third class together, so I can ask her what's up. The first two classes end fast and I hurry myself to the History class. I scan the seats in the room and find Sara sitting in the back, with her head in her hands. I take place in the seat the closest to hers and she ignores every move I make.

''Hey, are you okay?'' I ask her softly, not trying to catch attention of the other students.

''I'm fine, thank you.'' She answers monotone, her hands still hiding her face

''Did I do something wrong?'' I say even softer, trying to not piss her off.

She doesn't answer but instead looks up to me and I'm shocked when I see her once so soft hazel eyes now surrounded by dark bags underneath them, making them look empty. I scan her skinny body rather hanging onto her desk, while she tries to write down the teacher's lectures.

The moment she moves her hair slightly, and I can't help to notice vague blue-brownish stains in her neck. My mind immediately jumps to her and Jim doing kinky shit which makes me feel uncomfortable yet slightly turned on. I shake the thoughts from my head and attend the rest of the class until the bell rings again. Sara quickly leaves, ignoring me completely.

''What the fuck.'' I mumble to myself, wondering she might be bipolar or something.

I gather my books and head to my next classes until it's lunchbreak. I go sit with my friends as usual, surprised not to be accompanied by Sara, again. Emy, finding this as suspicious as I do, keeps an eye on Sara sitting with Jim and the other popular people, she normally hates.

After school I decide to walk up to her and try to figure out what it is that's making her so distant from our friend group.

''Sara, what's the matter?'' I ask, making her jump, obviously not expecting nor being happy to hear my voice.

''Nothing, I'm okay.'' Her high pitched voice says, giving away she's obviously lying.

''I'm not stupid, I know something's bothering you.'' I insist her to trust me with whatever her problem is.

''Please, Tegan, just go home.'' She says, almost begging.

''You can trust me with anything, we're friends.'' I smile at her.

SARA POV:

"It's okay, I'm just tired." I smile back at her, not lying but also not telling her the truth.

"You know where to find me if you wanna talk." She smiles at me and I nod, watching her walk to the bus stop.

I smile too, feeling less anxious than before, but my smile quickly disappears when I see Jim waiting at his car for me. I pray he didn't see Tegan and don't say a word as we enter the car. The whole ride to my house he's suspiciously silent, which he has been a lot lately but it's making me nervous for the moment he decides to speak.

When we arrive in front of my house, I wait in the car for him to say something but that only causes an awkward silence. Right when I decide to open the door he grabs my wrist and I flinch out of fear.

"Why were you talking to her?" He suddenly asks.

"Wh-what?" I say with a shaky voice, trying to remove his hand from my wrist.

"Don't fucking play stupid, Sara. I saw you."

"She was just asking how I was doing."

He lets go of my wrist and scoffs.

"What?" I ask, annoyed but still scared.

"You're such a whore." He says, making my annoyance turn into rage.

I slap him as hard as I can and scream at him, "Don't you ever dare to call me a whore again."

While he rubs the red print I left on his face, I gather my stuff and leave the car. He tries to grab my arm again but I quickly close the door and run inside of my house.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Hello! I'm sorry this chapter took way too long but school started and I'm drowning in homework. I try to write as much as I can and I'm working on some other stories I might post later too! Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think :D**_

 **Warning/disclaimer: This chapter contains rape.**

 **CHAPTER 6**

SARA POV:

I wake up in a cold sweat, as I've been doing a lot lately, and rub my eyes. I put on my glasses and quietly walk over to the bathroom. When I look into the mirror I see a big bruise in my neck from a few days ago, not even close to being healed. I quickly put on a scarf, trying to hide my neck and go downstairs, hoping my dad won't be up already. To my luck, he's still sleeping. Not that it would've been an issue since I hid it, my biggest problem would be seeing Jim in school or someone noticing something off about me.

After my morning routine, I take my bag of makeup and try to blend some products so there's no sign of any bruises. If my dad knew what Jim did, he'd be dead. But I don't want to create more drama, and just keep it to myself until it gets worse. I'm just hoping Jim isn't drinking again like he used to after the first few weeks of our relationship. Since then, I've been scared to leave him. I've always been scared of him. I just wish there was a way to break up with him without him getting mad.

I put my contacts on, not wanting people to see me with glasses. Most of Jim's friends always make fun of me when I wear them, saying I look like a nerd with my slight lisp. I hate them so much, I'd rather sit with Emy and Tegan. Suddenly I remember I haven't spoken to Emy for a while, probably making her already know that what's happening since I told her last year.

I put my stuff into my bag and get into my car. I park my car somewhere near school and quickly walk into the building, being right on time. During my classes I barely stay awake, feeling tired from my lack of sleep. Lately I've been staying up late studying or I just keep waking up in the middle of the night for no reason.

TEGAN POV:

I notice Sara's making her way to the lunchroom and I walk next to her, making me seem desperate to talk to her, but I just want to know what's going on. The moment she realizes I'm next to her, she stops and looks like she's upset about something.

''Sara, please tell me what's wrong?"

She doesn't say anything.

"Is it Jim?"

She keeps her eyes on the wall behind me, avoiding eye contact.

"He really doesn't want me to talk to you.'' She says with a soft voice.

''I'm sorry.'' She says, still avoiding eye contact, and leaves.

I sit on my usual spot in front of Emy, and wait for the day to slowly pass. When school's over, I wait on my usual spot for my bus to arrive and notice Jim and Sara leaving school together. I shake my head at the thoughts of Sara saying she doesn't love Jim anymore not long ago. Something must be going on.

I pick up my phone and press snooze, giving me a few minutes to properly wake up. When I see the date I feel excited but sad that my birthday already is in four days. I get up by myself, not being used to no one telling me to hurry up. As expected, my mom left a short note on the table saying she'll be gone by the time I wake up.

Hurried I make my way to the bus stop, being right on time for my ride. During the ride I think about all the stuff I can do while my mom's gone; I could throw a party for my birthday with my friends, or just stay alone and watch a movie. Suddenly I remember the homework I was supposed to make yesterday and curse myself for being so distracted and forgetful all the time.

I get out of the bus once it reaches school, and go to Lindsey and Ted, not bothering to talk to Sara since she'd rather not want me to.

I spend the rest of the day not paying attention in class and laughing with my friends. The subjects are so boring, especially geography, it's the same over and over again. Luckily the bell rings and I quickly get out of the building to go home.

SARA POV:

As Jim and I leave school I see Tegan waiting for her bus and can't stop feeling bad for her, even though it's best for her. I don't want Jim to hurt her again.

Once the car stops near my house at the woods, I thank Jim for the ride back home, but he stops me from leaving.

''Did you talk to Tegan today?'' He asks strictly, making me unsure of what he's trying to tell me.

''Uhh, no, why?'' I softly ask.

When he doesn't react I try to open my door but he's faster and locks it, making my anxious.

''What did I tell you?'' He says, holding grip on my wrist that's trying to open the door.

''But I really didn't.'' I try to defend myself, but he's not believing me.

''I warned you,'' He shakes his head, ''I guess those warnings weren't good enough.''

My eyes grow wide and I desperately try to open the door with my shaky hands.

''Please,'' I beg him, crying and trying to shield myself from his fists, but then he gets out of the car and walks over to my side.

I try to crawl over to the other side of the car to get out, but suddenly he grabs my legs, stopping me from escaping.

''Maybe I need to help you,'' he stops in the middle of his sentence to brutally rip down my pants and I panic.

''And get rid of your lesbianism.''

"What are you doing?" I scream and I hear his pants unzip.

I try to scream but his grip on my neck paralyses my whole body, not being able to do anything but cry.

After he's done, he pulls my sore body out of the car and throws me in the woods, all alone, trembling and crying.

TEGAN POV **:**

When I arrive home from school, my brain reminds me that my mom's not gonna be home for a while and I think about inviting Sara over since we haven't talked in a while. I grab my phone and send her a text, hoping she won't ignore me again.

" _My mom's out of town this week, wanna come over and hang out?"_

I make myself some food to take to my shack because there's not much food left there. While I put it in my backpack I make a mental note to go to the store tomorrow.

After a while Sara hasn't answered and I just go by myself, thinking she really doesn't want to talk to me because of Jim. On my way to the shack I look between the songs in my playlist and put on a happy song. When I'm halfway there, I suddenly hear an unfamiliar but unsettling noise through my music and take my earbuds out. I try to listen where it's coming from, or at least try to hear what the sound is, but it's dead silent. Confused I put one back in and continue walking forward. I begin to feel a little uneasy the further I walk and I immediately think it might be someone trying to mess with me again.

"Hello?" I scream, "Is there someone here?"

No one answers and I continue walking. But then I hear the same noise again, closer. They sound like someone is wheezing in the distance.

"Hello?" I try again and I start to hear the sound of sobs come closer as I walk forward.

My heartrate fastens as my eyes recognize the person laying on the ground, between the bushes. Her body is trembling and her knees are up to her chest. I run up to her and throw myself on my knees, next to her.

"Sara, are you okay?"

She only replies with sobs and vowels that try to form words. When I help her sit up straight, she winces and starts to cry harder. I notice that her pants are ripped apart and are slightly covered with blood. I hold her, trying to soothe her while her cries slowly reduce. She let's go of me, wiping off her tears with her sleeves and I look at her; her wrists are red and slightly bruised, and her neck is totally bruised, even worse than a couple days ago.

"Who did this?" I ask, trying not to cry myself.

She starts to breathe faster, trying to talk without crying, "Jim."

I feel my heart drop to my stomach and my body fills itself with anger. Why? Why would he do that if he loves her?

I take her hands and carefully help her get up. God, how long has she been laying there? My heart breaks when I see her skinny body tremble like it's about to collapse. I take her bag and steady her while we walk to my shack.

Once we're in the shack, I help her sit in my couch, trying not to hurt her. I walk over to the back to get her some clean clothes and give them to her. I help her change clothes and notice her body is full of bruises, new ones and barely faded ones. Luckily they fit her perfectly since our bodies are pretty similar.

"So, what happened?" I ask, not really knowing what's appropriate to ask at this moment.

"Well," she sighs, "Jim was driving me back home and then he started asking me if I talked to you today."

"But we didn't." I add and she nods.

"I told him, but he didn't believe me, so he started to get mad."

She takes a deep breath, trying to stay calm, and continues, "I tried to leave because I was afraid he'd hurt me, but then he locked the door of the car and he-"

Her sentence get interrupted by her sobs and she clutches onto my arm.

"Sara.." I say with a trembling voice, getting more scared by the second to hear what I fear that might've happened.

She looks up at me, her eyes full of tears, and whispers, "He raped me."

When I realize what she just said, my own eyes start to water too, "Oh my God.."

I shush her and we sit like this for a while; in silence, with only the sounds of her crying on my shoulder. It's weird how close I feel to her, like we've knew each other for years. It's like we met before, in another life.

"Can I stay with you tonight?" she asks with a soft, broken voice, sore from crying.

"Of course you can." I smile and hold her hand, "I promise I won't let anything happen to you ever again."

SARA POV:

 _I make my way back home and notice the strange unusual darkness around me. There is no one near me, but I feel like everyone's watching me take every step I take. The further I walk, the darker it gets. The beautiful flowers that once decorated the sidewalks are now dead and dark. I run faster, trying to get out of this darkness, but the street doesn't end. I just keep running and running, in the hope I will find my way home, or see someone else._

 _Suddenly I see something in the distance, I'm not sure what it is, but it's somewhat like a bright source of light. I run faster until a cloud of fog hides the light. Slowly, I get closer to the fog, and vaguely see that the light was coming from a car. I look around me to see if someone's near, but I can't see anything besides fog and darkness. When I'm close enough to the car to see who's in it, someone pushes me against the bonnet of the car and I completely freeze. I try to move my body but it's like my whole body is paralyzed._

 _Actions from yesterday start to go through my head, images of Jim hitting me and his voice screaming loudly. I'm experiencing every pain he's ever made me feel and I just cry, being as helpless as I am. Suddenly I vaguely see Tegan coming out of the dark smog and I try to call for help but she just stares at me. My crying turns into screaming and-_

I once again wake up in a cold sweat and with a rapid heartbeat. When my eyes start to adjust to the darkness, I realize I'm not in my room. I see a blurry figure next to me in the foreign king size bed I am laying in, and start to panic. The feeling of nausea goes through my body and I run out of the room, into another one, hoping for something to empty my stomach into. Because I haven't eaten anything for a long time, I luckily don't throw up a lot. I let myself fall on the floor and start crying.

Suddenly I hear footsteps coming from the room I just left. I can't see anything besides the darkness and a light coming from the other room. I hold my breath, trying not to make any noise, but the person comes closer. The door slowly opens wider and I see a shadow stand in the doorway. As a reflex of being scared, I make myself as small as possible and hold my knees up to my chest.

"Please, don't." I beg them, still crying on the floor.

When the shadow turns on the light, I refuse to open my eyes until I hear a familiar voice.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Hey guys, I'm so sorry this took me so darn long but I just didn't get to write as much as before. I'm gonna try to post more often and I hope this long chapter has made up for the long wait! Let me know if you guys like it or not, I love to see feedback. Enjoy!**_

 **CHAPTER 7**

SARA POV:

"Sara, are you okay?" Tegan asks worried.

I open my eyes and see that Tegan's sitting on her knees next to me. Vague memories of me falling asleep on Tegan's couch start running through my mind, giving me a feeling of relief that I'm in a safe place.

"What happened?" She asks, helping me stand up.

"I just had a bad dream, it's okay." I shrug and sit on the edge of her bed.

"I think it's better if you don't go to school today." She says and I shake my head, "No, I'm fine."

I try to get up but she takes my hand and stops me, "Sara, please. With all the stress you've been having lately and now this, I think it's better you stay home today and rest."

She's right, I'm too exhausted for school right now.

"Okay," I sigh, "But my dad won't let me stay home unless I'm actually sick."

"Then you tell him what that dick did to you." She simply replies, as if it's the easiest thing ever.

"I can't do that, Tegan." I whisper and she looks at me, confused.

"After all this shit you still don't want to turn him in?"

"I just can't do it." I answer, not being able to talk about it much yet, "But what do I tell my dad?"

She sighs and thinks for a short moment, "Tell him you will spend the rest of the week here, a sleepover for my birthday or something."

"We'll make him think you're at school, and make school think you're sick at home."

I nod, liking the idea of also being slightly less stressed for a day, even though lying stresses me out more than anything, I trust her. I already texted my dad I was spending the night here yesterday, he didn't really like the idea at first but since she lives so close he didn't mind. He probably won't mind if I stay here a little longer. Tegan goes to the bathroom to take a shower and I take my phone to call my dad.

" _Hello?"_

" _Hi dad, it's me."_

" _Is everything alright?"_ He immediately asks.

" _Yeah, I'm fine, I was just wondering if I could stay with Tegan a couple of days longer."_ I softly ask, mentally crossing my fingers.

" _Why?"_ He directly answers and I panic, _"Uhh I just- because it's her birthday and uhh, she's having a sleepover."_

" _Are there gonna be others?"_ He asks and I slightly feel embarrassed, knowing what he means.

" _No, just her and I."_ I answer, hoping for his agreement.

He's silent for a bit, but then sighs, _"Okay, but I want you to be back by the end of the week."_

I thank him and when I hang up, Tegan comes back into the room with damp hair, wearing baggy clothes. She smiles at me, probably already knowing my dad's answer because of my smile and lays back down on her bed.

"Aren't you going to school?" I ask, confused at why she isn't getting ready anymore since it's almost 8am.

"Nope." She simply answers and smiles, "I'm staying here to take care of you"

"But then you'll miss your classes." I answer, even though I'd love to spend time with her, her education is more important than my selfish needs.

"I'd rather be with you." She shrugs and I smile.

She suddenly gets up to look for something in her closet and hands me an oversized red hoodie with one of her favourite bands on it and a pair of grey sweatpants.

"You might want to put on something a little more comfortable."

I look at my dirty skinny jeans and sweater I'm still wearing from yesterday and take her clothes. I go to her bathroom to take a shower while she goes downstairs. After I took all my clothes off I notice the bruises on my pale body, touching them. While I quickly shower, I wince at the sore pain between my legs and hope it'll go away soon or I might have to see a doctor even though I don't want anyone to know what happened yet. I dry my hair and put on Tegan's clothes before going back to her room. I walk into her room and she's sitting on her bed, giggling.

"What?" I chuckle in confusion.

"You look cute in my clothes." She says while looking at how perfectly her clothes fit me.

I roll my eyes and lay down next to her. "Then I'll be wearing them more often."

I look at the clock and notice it's already past 8 am and suddenly think of the possibility that school will call my dad if I'm absent.

"What if school calls our parents?" I start to worry and think of all the consequences that might follow if my dad finds out.

"Don't worry, while you were in the bathroom I phoned school." She reassures, "I used to do this a lot in my previous school, they think we're both sick at home right now."

I nod and faintly smile at her, before laying down relaxed again. Not long after, thoughts about the past weeks start coming back and I try to hold back my tears. If I just told someone from the beginning of this all, it wouldn't have happened. I would've been safe. Now Jim can come back anytime and hurt me again or worse, Tegan, if he knew I was with her most of my time.

"You okay?" She softly asks after a while of silence and I shrug, "Not really."

I suddenly feel her warmth against my back and her hand rubbing my arm.

"It's gonna be okay." She soothes me, "I'm here with you now."

"But what if he comes to me tomorrow? Or threatens me again?" My voice keeps cracking as I try my hardest not to cry.

"I'll be with you all the time. If he even dares to look at you I'll kick his ass." She ensures me.

I nod and she gets up, quickly going downstairs before returning with food. She hands me pancakes she must've made while I was taking so long in the bathroom and sits next to me. We both remain silent until I taste how good they are.

"These are delicious, did you make them?" I ask in disbelief.

She nods and laughs, "Yeah, I like cooking. Hard to believe, right?"

After we're done eating, she put the plates on her nightstand and lays down. There's another silence where she just stares out of her window, until she suddenly speaks.

"When are you going to show me more songs you wrote?"

I softly laugh at her bringing this topic up on the most random moments and fake sigh, "Geez, I don't know. We'll see when you deserve one." I joke.

She laughs and looks back out of the window. I've only known her for a couple of months but I've noticed she looks out of windows a lot. It's like she sees something out there she can't take her eyes off. It's like she's always thinking. Sometimes I just want to get in her head and see what she's thinking about.

I get up to grab my chemistry book to keep myself occupied with something other than looking at Tegan, and feel a sharp sting in my stomach the second I stand on my legs. Quickly I sit back down, facing Tegan who I snapped out of her thoughts when I let my body fall onto bed.

"Are you okay?" She asks putting her hand on my shoulder.

"My stomach hurts." I groan in pain and she quickly helps me lay down on my back.

Tegan sits next to me not knowing what to do while I try to stay calm and not scream more.

"Do you want me to call a doctor?" She asks unsure and the pain suddenly disappears.

I shake my head and try to steady my breathing again.

"Maybe you should sleep some more, I think you're too stressed."

She covers my body with a blanket and gets up to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" I ask, sounding more needy than I intended to, but I just want her to stay with me.

"I'm just going to get something downstairs, don't worry."

I feel my eyelids closing by themselves even though I refuse to sleep before I'm sure she's back. I need to stop becoming so clingy, but I just can't help it.

I hear her footsteps walk up the stairs and fall asleep the second I see her walk into the room again with her iPod and earbuds.

"Piece of shit!" I hear Tegan groan the second I wake up.

I open my eyes and turn around to see her sitting behind her desk, her iPod in her hands, almost slamming it against the hard wood. I giggle a little too loud at how cute she reacts when she's angry and she turns her head to me.

"Oh shit, I'm so sorry I woke you up." She says, her body no longer angry but still frustrated.

"It's okay, I don't want to spend all day sleeping anyways." I sigh checking my phone for the time.

Holy shit it's already past 6pm, did I really sleep for that long? Well at least I'm feeling much better. She's right, I'm just way too stressed.

"What are you doing?" I ask when she throws a screwdriver against her desk.

"Trying to fix this stupid thing." She groans and I stand next to her, looking at her iPod which she separated every single piece of.

"What did you do to it?" I giggle, "It's completely wrecked."

"I didn't do anything, it just kept shutting itself off the whole time." She says clueless of what to do, "I tried to fix it."

"Anyways, I was about to order something to eat if you're hungry." She says, giving up on putting the pieces back together.

"I thought you said you liked cooking?" I tease her and she laughs ,"Yeah but since your stomach was already upset I didn't want to risk making it worse."

She gets up and takes her phone, "You like pizza?"

I nod and she leaves the room while she orders the food. While I wait for her to return I take my backpack and start to search for my agenda. I flip the pages until I reach tomorrows date and read what I wrote down next to my tasks, _Math page 77 until 83._ I can't remember if I finished it last time I was in class, so to be sure I grab my book from my backpack and decide to check. I open it and start looking at the exercises I almost finished. Quickly I grab a pen to finish it so I'll feel a little better about going to school tomorrow and being organized. I'm lucky I checked it, I don't like it when my schoolwork isn't finished. Tegan enters the room again when I'm making my thinking face, frowning and probably looking angry, writing the last numbers down.

"Food's gonna be here in fifteen minutes." She says and sits down next to me on her bed, mimicking my face. "What's that?"

She reads the paper with my hastily written handwriting and I giggle, "The homework we are supposed to hand in tomorrow."

"Homework? Oh man I completely forgot." She exclaims and I close my book, handing it to her. "You can copy mine."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I don't want you to fail." I softly laugh.

"Thanks." She giggles, "When did you even make that? There's no way you just made all of that in those five minutes I was gone."

"I like to prepare my tasks the second the teachers give them. I don't like to postpone homework." I say while she takes her own book and starts writing in it.

"Well in that case my second name is procrastination." She laughs and I chuckle as I watch her hand write every word and number quick and smooth. Her hands look so soft, I just want to hold them forever. Such an innocent gesture, yet it would mean a lot to me. Even though I think I'm starting to really like her, I'm not emotionally ready to start something new. I mean, I know she'd treat me way better than Jim, it's just that everything's been happening so fast and I just want to get to know her even more.

"How long can you stay here?" She suddenly asks, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"My dad said I'd have to be home by the end of the week."

"You'll stay here on my birthday, right?" She asks, her hand shortly taking a break from writing and her voice almost sounding desperate.

"Of course I will."

"Thanks." She smiles before continuing her homework. "If you'd stay until Sunday, you might even meet my mom."

"I'd love to." I reply, remembering seeing a picture of Tegan and her mom in her living room. "Why isn't she here to celebrate your birthday though?"

Tegan sighs as she closes her book and hands me mine back, "She had to go help my aunt. She said it was an emergency."

"What about your dad?" I ask, maybe sounding a little too nosey.

"My parents are divorced and he lives all the way across the country. I never really had a great relationship with him anyways so it's no biggie." She sighs and looks over to me, "What about you, are your parents divorced too?"

"No, my mom passed away when I was seven, she was very ill. My dad and I have been closer than ever since that day, that's why he's so protective." I shrug, understanding him but also still wishing there was a way to tell him I need space without hurting him.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry Sara. I didn't know." She softly says.

"It's okay, I went to therapy and I learned to live with it."

The second I finish my sentence the doorbell rings and Tegan hurries herself downstairs. A moment later she returns with a pizza and we both start eating.

"You know," She says with her mouth full of food, "I know how it's like to lose someone you love. I lost my best friend about a year ago."

"Is he the guy on the picture?" I ask while I point at a small picture being taped on her wall. "I thought he was your brother or maybe your boyfriend."

"Yeah, that's him, and no I don't have any siblings, luckily. And I'm also glad he wasn't my boyfriend since we're both gay." She lightly chuckles.

We both remain silent after that, enjoying the food and each others company.

"What time is it?" I ask a while after we finished our pizza.

"It's near 8pm, why?"

"Let's watch a movie." I suggest and she nods.

"Which one?" She asks as she looks through her collection of movies in the drawer underneath her television.

"Surprise me." I tease her as she takes one of the movies before putting the rest back into the drawer.

"I know it's already a while past Halloween, but do you like werewolves?" She asks as she puts the DVD into the DVD-player.

"Sure." I answer, not sure what she means by that, "Is it a scary movie?"

"Not really, unless you're a scaredy-cat." She teases back and sits next to me on her bed.

"I am not." I protest, and playfully slap her arm.

She laughs and then leaves the room, "Wait, I forgot something."

While I wait for her I take my backpack and look for my glasses so that I can actually read the subtitles without squinting the whole time. She returns with a big bowl of popcorn and her face has a surprised expression the moment she sees my glasses.

"I know," I sigh, "Just don't make fun of them."

"Why would I?" She giggles, "You look cute with them."

I look down at the ground, trying to hide the fact that I'm heavily blushing. She places the bowl in between us on the bed and starts the movie.

TEGAN POV:

When the movie's finished I look over to Sara and notice she's fallen asleep on my shoulder. She's so damn cute. I carefully remove her glasses and put them on the nightstand next to the bed. I slowly move out of bed, trying not to wake her up and grab a pillow and blanket from my closet. She continues sleeping in my bed as I make myself a small bed on the ground and lay down. Suddenly I hear her moving and she looks down at me with sleepy eyes and slightly messy hair.

"What are you doing on the ground, Tee?" She asks with a sleepy voice.

"Getting ready for bed." I awkwardly say.

"Why aren't you just sleeping in your bed?" She asks confused.

"I thought you might've liked more space." I softly giggle. Even though my bed is huge, I just didn't want to end up accidently clinging onto her like I almost did last night.

I get up and put my pillow back in its usual spot before laying down next to her. Immediately after I laid down in bed, Sara snuggles into my arms and I completely freeze. My heart goes wild as she wraps her arms around my stomach, pulling me closer. I'm not sure if she's fully aware of what she's doing or if she's half sleeping but it sure is making my feelings for her grow stronger. I haven't felt this happy for a while now.

The next morning I wake up early to my alarm clock and quickly turn it off before the terrible sound causes damage to my ears. Sara's arms are still wrapped around me as her eyes flutter open after abruptly being awoken by my alarm.

"Good morning." I softly speak.

"Morning." She says even softer, blushing as she just realized she's holding me.

"You feeling better?" I ask, prepared to fix another day off for her.

"Yeah, thanks." She says and slowly gets up.

We both go downstairs and I tell her to sit down at the table, trying to take care of her and make her feel like a queen just like she deserves.

"Coffee?" I ask holding a black mug in my hands and she nods, "Sure thanks."

"How do you like your eggs?" I say while I turn on the stove.

"Scrambled please." She answers and I softly smile at how polite she is, even with me.

I hand her her food and coffee and join her too. We quickly finish breakfast and I look at the clock, it's already 7:25am. We go back upstairs and I quickly check my schoolbag to see if I've got everything I need already. I walk up to my closet, taking somewhat decent outfits, and give one to her. I quickly get ready in the bathroom after her and hastily start looking for my shoes.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" She slightly giggles.

"Because our bus is at the bus stop in like fifteen minutes." I reply, putting on my shoes as she calmly packs her schoolbag.

"You know I can just drive us with my car, right?"

I stop tying my laces and look up at her, I completely forgot she had a car.

"It's at my house though, so we'll have to go there soon." She explains.

"Okay, sounds great." I smile at her but then feel my heart stop when she turns her head to grab her books and I see the exposed bruises in her neck, no longer covered by the hoodie.

"Uhh, do you want me to help you cover those up?" I softly ask as I point at her neck and she nods, her face turning sad again, making me feel guilty.

I take her into the bathroom and grab my makeup kit. I never really use it, only to cover up my own bruises when I got into pointless fights. She sits down on the edge of the bathtub and I gently touch the dark skin.

"Does it hurt?"

She shakes her head as an answer and I take a powder that's somewhat the same colour as her pale skin. I start to dab the little sponge with liquid makeup onto her neck. After the bruises are fully covered, she gets up and looks in the mirror.

"Thanks, that's pretty good." She chuckles while she looks at her neck.

"I used to cover up a lot of hickeys and bruises in the past." I weakly laugh and we go back to my room to grab our bags.

We walk to her house which is luckily in the street next to mine, and I hesitate to follow her inside. She's told me so much stories about her dad being strict, that I'm scared to do something wrong and fuck it up.

Don't be such a wuss, if you really like her you'll have to meet her parents anyways.

Once we're inside, it's oddly quiet. I look around and vaguely remember the hallway from when she helped me after I got hit by Jim. She's about to silently walk upstairs when a loud manly voice stops her.

"Sara? Is that you?" A big guy comes up to us in confusion.

"What's going on? Who's this?" He immediately asks after he's made eye contact with me.

"I just forgot my car's keys in my room, and that's Tegan." She smiles and quickly goes upstairs.

"Hi Sir, nice to meet you." I say holding out my trembling hand.

He shakes it and smiles, "Please, call me Bruce."

I smile back and it gets kind of awkward until Sara comes downstairs.

"Let's go." She says as she wiggles with her keys.

"Your dad's nice." I say after we've said bye and got into her car.

"Yeah, that's because you're a girl. If you were a boy, he'd probably have taken your soul." She jokes and I nervously laugh, feeling like that would happen if he knew I was falling in love with his daughter.

The beginning of the ride is silent until I suddenly remember Emy, Lindsey and Ted. Does Emy know yet? Is Sara planning on telling her? I mean Emy is her best friend but, I'm not sure if it's a great idea to tell Lindsey or Ted yet.

"Does Emy know what happened?" I ask her and she sighs, keeping her eyes on the road. "Not yet, I'm going to tell her today."

When we arrive at school she parks her car on the street near the building. I guess not a lot of students have their own car since there are barely other cars besides the teachers. I wish I had enough money for one. Tomorrow I'm seventeen and I don't even have my driver's licence, not that I really need one, it's just easier than waiting on my bus.

We enter the building right on time and the bell loudly rings. I immediately look around for any sign of Jim, ready to smash his skull into pieces, but I barely see any students since everyone's already in their class. I don't see our friends either so I decide to just go to my first class. Luckily Sara will be there too, so I can stay close to her as much as possible, like I promised her.

We join Lindsey in the back of the class and get a confuses look from her, probably because we were both absent yesterday.

"Where were you guys yesterday? Did you skip school?"

"No," I laugh, knowing Sara would never do such thing without a reason, "She didn't feel well."

"And you just skipped school?" She asks me, not being able to connect the dots why we were both not in school.

"She took care of me." Sara answers before I can.

Lindsey nods and tries to hide her smile, "Emy already thought such thing."

"Where is she anyways?" Sara asks and I suddenly notice Emy isn't sitting on her usual spot in front of me.

"She told me she forgot her book in her locker." She shrugs and a second after we got our books on our desks, Emy rushes through the door.

"Hi guys." She says and sits down quickly.

The classes before lunch I can't concentrate at all, let alone Sara. I just keep thinking about how horrible it is she doesn't tell anyone, he needs to be punished.

"Where were you guys yesterday?" Ted asks suspicious as we join him at his table in the lunchroom.

"Sara didn't feel well and Tegan 'took care of her'." Lindsey answers, copying Sara's words from before.

"Lately you guys look a little bit super close, don't you think?" Ted teases while Lindsey and Emy laugh in agreement, making Sara feel slightly embarrassed.

"Why aren't you guys joining us in the bar anymore?" Lindsey asks and I shrug, "We're trying to avoid Jim in every way possible."

"Well stealing his girlfriend wasn't that smart of you then." Lindsey jokes and I shrug, almost forgetting they didn't know what he did.

"It sucks we don't hang out that much anymore." Emy joins and I get an idea.

"You guys wanna come to my party tomorrow?" I ask before correcting myself, "Well not really a 'party' but just chill at my place."

"Yeah, sounds fun." Ted smiles. "At what time?"

"7pm, I'll text you the address later on today." I smile as Lindsey agrees too.

I look over to Sara and smile at her, receiving one back causing my stomach to flutter.

When the bell finally rings I decide to take the bus home with Emy since Sara had early release because her biology teacher's sick.

"Sara told me what happened yesterday." Emy says starting a conversation in the awkward silence.

I nod, assuming she must've told her during chemistry class, I regret not taking many science classes.

"I'm glad she's taking it well, I wouldn't be able to go outside for a while if I was in her position." I say as I sit down next to Emy in the bus.

''Yeah poor girl, she should've left after the first time.''

I look over to Emy, confused at what she just said. This isn't the first time he's done this?

"What do you mean?" I ask, receiving an _oh shit_ from Emy, realizing Sara didn't tell me what she's talking about.

"Emy, just tell me. You know I only want to help her." I insist her to tell me.

"This isn't the first time Jim has hurt her. He has forced her to have sex multiple times." She whispers and I feel my heart drop.

"Why didn't she tell anyone? Or at least dump him?"

"She tried to dump him more than once, but every time she ended up being beaten up by him."

"Why didn't she tell me? I could've prevented this time." I say feeling upset she didn't tell me, I totally could have helped her.

"She's sensitive about it, she doesn't like talking about it and I understand why."

"You're right," I sigh, "But you bet your ass that next time I see Jim I'll beat the shit out of him."


End file.
